Topic: How do I "Do my own research" - page 2. (Read 1818 times)

Thank you, I know that ICO flipping has become a thing as of late and day trading with altcoins is also a part of the culture here. But I don't plan on flipping I plan to HODL until the main features of their project come out in a year or whatever the time frame is. But if I see an opportunity to take a 10x return before then I'll take profits but not completely remove myself from the position in case things go even higher.

Right loreRex, and I don't expect them to. If they did I would be suspicious haha, but I'd be looking at the main things like Ayers said like escrow, their team, how strong their idea is, and avoiding the red flags that I have so far.

toio much things to look at from your list, i only look at the possibility to have a great dev or a faggot behind the coin development process, also i'm looking if the ico coin is gaining traction while the time pass gradually, the numbers of pages of the ANN is a good indicators if the coins will succeed or not, at leats i find it so, also another mandatory thign to check is escrow, without that i'm not considering any ico no matter the features presented

This. Open source culture is a really important aspect of currencies inspired by bitcoin so developers looking to catter to cryptocurrency enthusiasts and potential investors should really take proper care of showcasing their development infastracture. Not only is the code important to building something of value as an altcoin, but the ability of the development team to improve it actively must also be showcased.

Github

• Commit history.
• How many developers.
• How many issues.
• Documentation.
• Are you able to run the code?

If non-technical person is able to run the code and read documentation it means they did a great job and are ready for wider adoption...

Worth noting that Bitcoin would've failed almost all that list. Lol

Great write up. Bookmarked for future use.

Nice list, even though realistically no ICO is going to give you all these positive features.

Many times here i have seen good looking threads with very cool graphic, promises with very realistic goals. But it turned to be a scam. Simply amazing, you wrote simple guide and someone can use this as guidance and can scam you. There is no security, especially when team is anonymous. This is crypto and no guarantee.

This is really a good summary of the investigation and research one has to do in order to enlighten yourself before jumping in to investing into a coin. Although I think a lot of people speculate on the short term (intra day) and therefore don't do this at all.

I have some sympathy with your view of things but I don't believe in a Bitcoin killer but I do believe in a handful of coins supplementing known flaws in Bitcoin.

I saw you dismiss XBY when it very simply solves the security issues crypto has but you dissmissed it as a shitcoin. So no I don't think you will know when your 'Bitcoin killer' comes because there never will be one. You should try to find the solution solving coins instead.

Most of this list is great though also some are irrelevant like the quality of the website etc..IMO

But you got to add two things, experience and instinct, gut reaction call it what you want. Cause a scam can do all these things and great projects fail in some of these tests, the only real way to know once you process the facts is this gut feeling, discernment etc. Usually you have opportunity to get this gut feeling from the developers behaviour and the feelings you get from them.

Thanks, I've always been interested in the stock market since my early teens. Playing little stock market simulators and whatnot, crypto felt like a better route to go when I found out about it. Although there's more volatility, the barrier to entry is lower.

I'd say once you see how this all works it's just obvious.. no details needed.
The issue is complication and confusion.. which helps shitcoin dev's.

Lets start with.. a criteria.. GET ONE !

- What is an Altcoin and why are they being made ?

Since you have nothing to lose as you said and the first thing you did was "jump in" investing
and you apparently HAVE money to spare as a college student.
I'd say you are leaning heavily to being a profiteer.. like all the rest here.

I got here and fell victim to the rambblings of the Feathercoin team then moved to Litecoin permanently.
I was lured into FTC because of the criteria you mentioned earlier.
But back then there was only a few Altcoins and BTC had not hit $50 yet.
Back then i'd guess there was 50 Altcoin in total.. including Tenebrix etc.

So.. We simplify it all.

The first thing we need is perspective..
You can not ignore the amount of coins created mounts in time.
So you have to judge any new project on the fact it will be coin #3,203 etc.
Is making #3,203 justified ?
I'd say you need a better excuse than you do if it was coin #8.

Then I'd look at the point of it (the excuse)
Is it a currency ? Or is it a scheme of sorts tacked onto a block-chain ?

Then you need to figure out what it's initial distribution is and what you deem acceptable.
Such as Airdrops or ICO bullshit or varied levels of premines etc.
And what of those you are willing to support.

I could go on but it should be common sense really.. just don't let them all confuse you with White Papers and shill jargon etc.

Things like the dev's identity being posted is 100% meaningless.
Crypto is littered with an endless stream of "known" users who took the money and ran for it.

Bottom Line:
For me it's simple.. i am waiting to see if the Bitcoin Killer comes out.
And if it does it will be blatant / obvious.
There will not be any confusion or question or humming & hawing about it all.
You'll just know..

So what is left.. you are lookin' at it and as you said you jumped right in (investing)
So.. your investing in shitcoins

So what are you REALLY asking ?
Which pointless shitcoin is least risky FOR YOUR ROI'Z ?

Revelations:
The first thing that surprised me joining crypto was the morality confrontation.
I didn't realize it was going to be such a tantamount aspect to all this.
It's funny i assumed getting in it was all about tech & code etc.. digital stuff.
Then seen trading with emotions and rampant back stabbing shady greedy shenanigans etc.

So i am saying day 1 and for a while you need to establish what your moral stance is on this stuff is.
And it will likely grow and change in time and maybe with age / maturity.
(although some people are just criminals at heart)

The one thing i noticed that slapped me across the face was..
It's easy for you and me to be a little bit shady and greedy.
And in time i noticed the effects of this.. negative repercussions individually and as a whole.
So I'm saying if we all trade blatantly shitty coins for profits.. just a little
..it has a combined large cumulative negative effect.

---

This has been.. * Spoetnik's Hitch Hiker's Guide to Crypto *

Bookmark it

Wow - I'm impressed! It is a rare sight on bitcointalk to see someone put that much 'business sense' into making an investment in cryptocurrency. Well done.

Being a computer science major will definitely make things easier on you, but because all tech can be copied, it is important to look at it from other angles, including ease-of-use. No one should have to "read the whitepaper" to invest in one of these projects. You may have the capability to read it with complete understanding, but if the team can't relay their message in such a way that everyone can comprehend the basic idea, how will they (the team) be able to take it any farther? Whitepaper... yes, but there also needs to be helpful beginner level explanations so everyone can get a basic understanding of what they are investing in. If a leader speaks and only the computer science majors can understand what is being said, how are they going to convince the world they have a solution to problem XX? Or, is it just another flashy tech 'solution', looking for a problem?

"Team member experience- Company experience - Background" Very important here is their experience before cryptocurrency, because they will need verifiable experience of the ability and drive required to operate on a global stage. An investment winner will have leadership that has a vast network of business connections. They will communicate in a way that makes everyone feel welcome, and have a solid business plan that is mapped out for years (though very few of the details will be made public - smart business).

The "Do your own research" comment, is said in almost every post to someone who is new or asking for advice, as a way to warn people that Peanut Butter and Jam Coin isn't going to the moon, despite what the bagholders say. 

90% of startups fail within the first 10 years. In cryptocurrency, I would venture to say less than 10% of all launches had any plans to do anything at all, meaning 90% of all launches can't even call themselves a startup.. That doesn't leave many success stories...

Welcome to bitcointalk...

premine

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to this new world of crypto. I dove in head first a few weeks ago, learning about cryptocurrencies and how they work, how the blockchain technology works, reading Nakamoto's Whitepaper. And being a computer science major its all really interesting to me.

Deciding mining coins wasn't for me, I decided the best route for me would be to invest and make my money work for me since I'm single and in college and don't have anything to lose haha.

After reading up on ICOs in the Announcements part of the altcoins subforum the main thing that I'm seeing when people ask for advice on whether to buy in on the coin or not is to "Do your research." Yesterday someone came into a Slack channel that I was in and was all, "This ICO starts in 5 minutes tell me why I should invest in this coin." And after people emploring him to read the Whitepaper, he says, "I don't have time to read, money is too valuable." Which made me chuckle.

After doing some google-fu and youtube videos, this is what I was able to compile when doing research on what to look for before making a decision on investing in an ICO:

Team

  - Open Identities with social media, videos explaining the ICO
  - Experience

Whitepaper

  - Solution to existing problem presented in the details
  - No "water" sentences and is all essence
  - Economic sphere and market review with economic and market data
  - Includes code or technical details

Business Idea

  - The idea can be implemented in reality
  - Detailed, well-thought out economic plan 
  - Roadmap is adequate and logical
  - Do your own market research

Competition

  - Existing players that don't use blockchain technology advantages
  - Competitors that are coming to market w/ blockchain tech
  - Ability to compete w/ a monopoly (e.g. Wikipedia)

Working Prototype

  - Existing working prototype
  - Lots of finished work before IPO
  - Competitive product

Token Characteristics

  - Supply characteristics
  - Are tokens being churned out after the IPO? Inflation?
  - Percentage distributed to investors vs. developers
  - 70% TO 80% is ideal
  - Does it have inner value? Better if token can be used inside of project.

Look at

  - Idea Quality
  - Website Quality
  - Dev Team Quality
    - Direct social media to reach team members
    - What company is behind it
  - History
    - Team member experience
    - Company experience
    - Background
  - Solid roadmap
  - Make sure devs aren't previous scammers and the project is legit

Red flags

  - Devs anonymous/unknown
  - No escrow wallet
  - Unrealistic/unclear goals
  - Lack of transparency, no work-in-progress
  - Don't release code snippets, demo/beta version of their product
  - No behind the scenes videos


I would really appreciate anything you guys have to add and I look forward to learning from you guys during my time here.